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Misau vs Nigeria Police: Who blinks first?

Saturday, 2 September 2017

The rift between the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isah Hamma Misau (APC,Bauchi) and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has sent tongues wagging among the citizenry on the veracity or otherwise of the profuse allegations emerging from both sides. But how will end?

The altercation started on August 10 when Misau, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, alleged that police officers paid N2.5million to benefit from special promotion.

Our correspondent had contacted Misau at the National Assembly over an earlier claim that police officers paid N500,000 to benefit from the special promotion being coordinated by the PSC and the IGP’s office.

Misau in his reaction said: “You are talking about N500, 000, it’s beyond that. A serving police officer aware of the trend has told me that they paid as much as N2.5m to get special promotion. Other sources have also confirmed it to me. So it is nothing but a fact.’’

In the presence of a serving senator from Borno State and our correspondent, Misau telephoned a serving police officer who confirmed the bribe for special promotion in the police.

On the phone speaker, the police officer said the trend had negatively affected their performance and morale, saying bribe for promotion was one of the reasons the country was recording increase in crime.

“I’m tired of bribing for promotion. Junior officers are being promoted and deployed to strategic locations. I swear if I had the capital I would’ve resigned from the force,’’ he said.

A week after, the police higher authorities invited Misau for questioning. In a statement by its spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, the police announced the setting up of a special panel to investigate the complaints and allegations.

Moshood accused Senator Misau of spreading falsehood inimical to the image of the Nigeria Police Force, which could lead to dismissal or compulsory retirement from the force.

Moshood said: “The claims in the story were fabricated lies and unsubstantiated allegations of the shallow imaginations of a personality claiming to be a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

He explained that DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman got the suspected forged retirement letter in 2014 but he contested the Bauchi Central Senatorial Election in 2011 General Elections under Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at that time he was a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a deserter from the force.

He said: “This is a clear element of criminal liability of fraud and impersonation, because under the law, you cannot be a police officer and still stand for election. The Nigeria Police Force hereby declares DSP Mohammed Isah Hamman (Senator Isah Haman Misau) a deserter from the Nigeria Police Force.”

“The force will definitely take appropriate action in this circumstance as it has to do with a deserter under the Police Act and Regulations.

He also said the Criminal and Penal Codes describes a deserter as a suspected criminal under the law. He implored all other security agencies in the country to assist the Nigeria Police Force in this regard.

At about the same time, the PSC chaired by retired IGP Mike Okiro, also invited Senator Misau. The senator who said he was on a whistleblowing mission shunned the two invitations.

Rather, the senator who is a member of the Senate Committee on Anti - Corruption, asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to conduct an independent investigation into the allegation against the police and PSC.

Misau said: “I shunned the invitation because the police and PSC cannot be judges in their own matter. The police did not invite me officially, a retired AIG wrote to me inviting me over the matter. I told him I won’t honour the invitation because I don’t know who he is acting for. The invitation should have come from the IG because my allegation was directed at him and the PSC, “he said.

On the PSC’s invitation, he said: “I shunned it because the PSC cannot oversee a case they have interest in. But before they wrote me, I had requested for the list of all beneficiaries of Police Special Promotion since 2009 from the PSC in line with Freedom of Information (FOI) law.

“The PSC replied me that it was only the Senate Committee on police affairs that could request for the list. I replied them that I requested for it in line with FOI, as a Nigerian and as a senator and not as chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy. I’m still waiting for the list,” he said.

In a swift reaction to Misau’s call for DSS probe, the police said Misau was being charged with several acts of serious misconduct, unprofessional wrong doings contrary to discipline and other improper behaviors unbecoming of a police officer.

Moshood said Misau was under Pending Disciplinary Matter (PDM) to appear and face Force Disciplinary Committee (FDC) before he hurriedly exited unceremoniously from the force, adding that this could explain his false allegation against the police.

He said the panel constituted to probe the bribery allegation sent two invitation letters to Misau for him to meet with the panel, explaining that one of the letters was sent through the senate president.

He said another letter was written directly to Misau to provide evidence in written form to substantiate and shed light on his allegations and assist the panel. Moshood said Misau declined both invitations and when some members of the panel visited him, he bluntly refused to make statement on his allegations.

It was while responding to the allegation that he left the police unceremoniously that Misau accused the IGP of collecting N120 billion as payment for special security services rendered by the police to corporate bodies, oil firms and others annually.

He also said posting of officers in the force as state police commissioners or mobile commanders was done on the basis of N10m to N15m bribe payment.

“The incumbent IGP based on available records and series of petitions and reports from insiders, has no capacity to run the police just like the chairman of the Police Service Commission, Rtd IGP Mike Okiro who also lacks similar capacity going by N300million scam and others hanging on his neck since 2011 during the presidential primary election of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) where he served as the head of the security committee.

“Specifically, the IGP on good authority from within the force, collects over N10bn on monthly basis as money for special security provided by men of the force to corporate bodies and highly placed individuals including criminals , running to N120billion on year basis without any reflection in Police annual budgets or internally generated revenue.

“On nepotism, the IGP is scoring high mark by making almost half of the mobile commanders in the country, people of his Nupe extraction and on favouritism, appointing CP Moses Jitoboh an officer who had been out of field of operational service to that of Political service for close to 20 years , as Adamawa State Police Commissioners”, he said.

Debunking the allegation that he was sacked unceremoniously from the force, Misau presented to newsmen the letter upon which he said his retirement from the force was effected by the Police Service Commission.

Again, while reacting to Misau on cornering of N120bn by IGP, the police spokesman said he (Misau) deserted from the police.

“Misau has been found out to still exist on the Nigeria Police Force officers’ staff list as AP. No 57300 DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman on posting to Niger State Police Command on the 24th September, 2010.

“He dubiously absconded and deserted the Nigeria Police Force on 24th September, 2010 when he was redeployed to Niger State Command and he refused to report, consequent upon which he was queried in line with the Public Service Rules Sections 030301(b)(g)(m)&(o) and 030402(a)(b)(c)(e)&(w), in addition to the previous queries and disciplinary process he was facing when he refused to proceed on Junior Command Course(JCC) 49/2008 at Staff College Jos between 5th January, 2009 and 19th June, 2009.

“The retirement letter presented to journalists by DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman is suspiciously forged and dubiously obtained. The letter which was dated 5th March, 2014, a period of more than four years after AP No 57300 DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman (Senator Isah Hamman Misau) deserted the force is now being investigated by the force,” the spokes said.

Concluding, Mashood said Misau was still a police officer and such should not be regarded as a senator. He said the retirement letter he was parading was a suspected to be a forged document under investigation.

Misau issued a statement dispelling the claim that he was a deserter, saying he voluntarily resigned when he was posted to Niger State. He challenged the police authorities to address the issues he raised, rather than claiming that he deserted the force.

“The real issue is the illegal promotion in the police force and its potential to undermine operational capacity of the force. The IGP and the chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC) should prove me wrong and not embark on voyage of discovery,” he said